Telescope Reviews: 15X70 Giantviews are here!

First some shots:

Side view

Front view

The business end

View of the tripod, along with my XT8

Three binoculars
From left to right: 15X70 Giantviews, 10X50 Nikon Action and my grandfather's Hertel & Reuss Optik 7X50s...they're in bad need of a professional cleaning, which I have been unsuccessful at accomplishing (no one in town does such stuff), but they aren't bad for what they are.

So my eagerly awaited Giantview 15X70s came today, well packed. The tripod (Orion's Large Tritech) is a bit of a disappointment as it contains a LOT of plastic parts...whaddya want for 60 bucks, I guess? But caveat emptor: The only significant metal I can find is in the legs themselves. It's sturdy enough I suppose, even at full height, but gee, I hope it stands up to regular use.

Oddly enough I was more impressed with the binocular tripod L adapter. It's heftier than it appears online so that was a pleasant surprise.

But the binocular is another story altogether! What a beautiful unit. It comes packed in a nice hard case which can be seen in the background of the photo of my 3 binos, linked above. Focusers feel nice with smooth action.

I can't detect any significant fringing when looking at a dark light pole against a bright background of sky.

I went out before dark for a quick look at a couple early arrivals. The moon looks much better in these than in my Nikons, though I'd like to hook them to the tripod and see what a difference that makes. Jupiter shows a significant disk and I swear I can see the hint of an equatorial band. Alas, Saturn is pretty much done for the year...it'll have to wait until next year to see if I can see a hint of the rings. I'm betting that I can...

After it got nice and dark, I went out again, mostly to take in a nice ISS pass. I was unable to zero it in while the bino was on the tripod but I quickly removed it and got a glimpse. There wasn't much detail but then again, there wasn't as much in my scope at 38X as there was the last time I saw it. Then I could distinctly see solar panels. Perhaps it was pointed differently?

I tried to zero in M13 but it was basically at zenith and I just couldn't contort myself to see it. That'll come with practice I suppose. I WAS able to have a look at The Triffid and M21 and they were quite nice.

It was extremely humid out and there was a fair amount of cloud cover so conditions weren't ideal but it certainly made for a decent first light! I look forward to clearer nights and darker sites!

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Orion XT8 Classic
Orion Sirius Plossl 25mm
Orion Sirius Plossl 10mm
Orion Q70 32mm 70° Widefield
Takahashi 5mm ED LE
Rigel Quickfinder
9X50 RACI Optical Finder
Orion Shorty 2X Barlow
Orion 25% Moon Filter
Nikon Action 10X50 Binoculars
Moonlite Focuser
Baader Hyperion 13mm EP
My Band